Adam Wainwright Threw a Horrific Wild Pitch — On Purpose

Adam Wainwright is a good pitcher. This, however, was not a good pitch. But it was no accident.

The St. Louis Cardinals righty unloaded a terrible wild pitch during Tuesday night's game against the Chicago Cubs. Opposing pitcher Jake Arrieta was at the plate in the fourth inning when Wainwright unloaded a hall of fame-caliber blooper.

As crazy as it seems, Wainwright told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he actually threw it badly on purpose as a way to make sure catcher Yadier Molina would avoid getting injured:

I saw him shift outside and I was looking at a different part of the plate. When I saw that, instantly -- and I saw it before -- I thought he was looking for a breaking ball and I had fastball grip. I did not want to throw a ball and hit him in the collarbone or something and have Yadier out. I pull-hooked it and erred on the side of not hitting him -- by 20, 30 yards."

If that's true, then kudos to Wainwright, who may have also had the presence of mind to realize he could waste a pitch on an 0-2 count to a pitcher. In the end, it didn't amount to much -- the Cubs prevailed, 2-1.

And it could've been worse. Wainwright could've been teammate Stephen Piscotty, who got hit three times between home plate and when he circles the bases to score a run.

While you absorb that, take another at the early season frontrunner for worst pitch of the year.